The federal bipartisan infrastructure agreement includes $60 billion, including $45 billion in new grant funding, for bridge projects.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes increasing funding for the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant program by $3.2 billion; $5 billion in supplemental appropriations for the new National Infrastructure Project Assistance grant program; $7.5 billion for the RAISE grant program; $12.5 billion for the Bridge Investment Act to provide competitive grants for rehabilitation and replacement of bridges; and $27.5 billion for a new formula bridge grant program.
The Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project is an example of a project that will benefit from the bill’s funding. The 58-year-old bridge connects Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky and is considered a functionally obsolete bridge by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The bridge was built to handle 80,000 vehicles daily but handles 160,000 vehicles a day. It is the site of many severe crashes that close the bridge for extended periods of time.
“As a life-long Cincinnatian, I have seen firsthand the ever-growing need for our community to invest in a solution for this outdated bridge,” U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) said. “By providing new funding streams, the Brent Spence Corridor Project will have the federal support our state and local partners in Ohio need to finish the job once and for all.”